
How to craft messages people remember
From The {Closed} Session by Tom Chavez -- super{set}
January 21, 2026 · 36 min · Episode 62
About this episode
Terry Szuplat discusses the importance of storytelling in business and how it can be a competitive advantage in the AI age.
Most founders think storytelling is fluff that distracts from product metrics. Terry Szuplat, Obama's longest-serving speechwriter who crafted eight years of presidential addresses, reveals why narrative craft is your last defensible moat in the AI age. He breaks down the three-part framework that structured 3,000 White House speeches, explains why vulnerability beats data in investor pitches, and shares the "only you can say" principle that cuts through ChatGPT-generated sameness plaguing startup communications. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
People in this episode
Host: Tom Chavez
Guest: Terry Szuplat
Topics covered
- storytelling
- narrative craft
- investor pitches
- AI
- communication
- founders
Keywords
- storytelling
- narrative
- AI
- investor pitches
- communication
- founders
- speechwriting
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: White House, ChatGPT
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